Public school youngsters will be back at class today after a two-week mid-term vacation.

That’s why the highways were packed over the weekend as Central Valley families return from their holiday retreats.

The weekend took a typical toll. A mother and her 3-month-old baby died when their car overturned near Pérez Zeledón. On the Interamerican highway, two men died when their passenger car crashed headon into a trailer. A public bus was the third vehicle involved in the collision. It was on the San Isidro-San José route.

Tránsito officers were conducting vehicle checks on the main highways into the Central Valley Sunday. They were perhaps responding to an article Sunday in the Spanish-language La Nación that said few tickets for speeding and other moving violations are ever given out.

The Instituto Meteorológico Nacional says rain will be falling all over the country today with the possible exception of the north Pacific. The storms are supposed to be accompanied by lightning.

The next holiday is July 31 for school children. This is the Monday following July 25, the usual date for celebrating the Annexation of the Partido de Nicoya. A new law moves the holiday to the next Monday to provide a three-day weekend.

The holiday may be more than what officials anticipate. Aug. 2 is the feast day of La Virgen de los Angeles, and all roads lead to Cartago and the basilica there.

July 31 and Aug. 1 will be days of foot pilgrimages from all over Costa Rica. Perhaps a million Costa Ricans will be on the roads walking.

The holiday is likely to be a five-day one as entire school classes and social groups participate in the walk.